


and im drowning in 'em

by jemmasimmons



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Engagement, F/M, Fluff, Marriage Proposal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-25
Updated: 2016-06-25
Packaged: 2018-07-18 06:13:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,865
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7302784
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jemmasimmons/pseuds/jemmasimmons
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Marry me.”<br/>He paused.<br/>“What?” <br/>“Marry me,” she reiterated. “I’m serious.”<br/>-<br/>In the dead of night, Jemma makes Fitz an impromptu proposal.</p>
            </blockquote>





	and im drowning in 'em

**Author's Note:**

> \+ This kinda spawned from headcanons on my Twitter (@jemmasimmins), so shout out to Taylor for encouraging me to keep going and write this.  
> \+ Also a massive thanks goes out to Daisy, who beta'd this fic and made it sound like twenty times better than it did because I can't write description for shit.  
> \+ This is all just pure fluff and miles away from what I normally write, so just apologies in advance.  
> \+ Title is from Helpless from Hamilton

 

“Marry me.” 

He paused. 

“What?” 

“Marry me,” she reiterated. “I’m serious.” 

Fitz squinted in the dim light of their room, and his head spun with an aching tiredness as he opened his eyes to the sound of Jemma’s voice in the dimly lit room. She was looking straight at him, alert as ever, with a soft curiosity shining through her honey-brown eyes as she studied every inch of his expression. 

“Well?” 

Her tone wasn’t firm, but rather soft. It didn’t take long for Fitz to realise that the softness came from nerves as she continued to look at him, and he had now woken up enough to understand the gravity of what she'd just said. 

“What's brought this on?” he asked quietly, furrowing his brows at the suddenness of Jemma’s proposal. 

“Does there have to be anything?” 

Fitz hummed to himself, deep in thought. She was right; _did_ there have to be anything? Or was he looking too deeply into a question that quite possibly had no real answer? But he knew from the look in her eye that yes, there was definitely something – but before he could open his mouth, she'd already begun to answer her own question.

“So there might have been something, I suppose." she admits, her bashfulness seeming almost out of character. He tried to suppress a smirk, but he apparently wasn't successful. "Don’t give me that look,” she chuckled whilst nudging his arm. She hated it when he pulled that face. “I’ve been thinking about it for a while. Us, you know?” Jemma nudged Fitz’s arm again when he indicated that he did know, telling him that he should shut up because once _she_ was trying to be the romantic one. 

“ _Anyway_ ," she continued, trying to articulate that she didn’t want to keep these thoughts in any longer. "I was just thinking about marriage. I don’t really know how it popped into my head, but once it did... things seemed to make sense. And I don’t want to waste any more time not being married to you, so... well, here we are.” 

“Here we are,” Fitz repeated.

“Yes.” Jemma could feel her stomach beginning to turn for the first time since she'd finally plucked up the courage to ask the long-awaited question, and she swallowed hard as the nerves finally started to sink in. This wasn't helped by the fact that she knew Fitz only repeated things when he was feeling particularly nervous.

Silence consumed the room within seconds. Jemma’s eyes dropped from his and she found herself sitting bolt upright in bed, listening to her heart thud behind her ears as the seconds dragged on as if she was wading through a muddy puddle of time. She couldn’t quite look at him properly, though whenever she cast a quick glance in his direction he was looking straight back at her, staring at her in a way that her magnificent brain just couldn’t quite decipher. 

But that just wasn’t good enough. She was Jemma Simmons after all, and as always, she needed an answer. She wasn't prepared to wait much longer for it either, more so as her nerves were beginning to get the better of her. 

“Well?” She tried to make herself sound more confident than she felt, but the small crack in her voice gave her away and she cursed under her breath. 

Fitz moved to sit upright, almost mimicking Jemma - whose back was pressed against the headboard with her knees drawn closely to her chest as she lost herself in a sea of nerves – but instead moved with a sense of calm control as he approached her initial question with another. 

“You know... you never actually asked me the question.” Jemma scoffed in retaliation, but he simply shook his head. “Not properly.”

Jemma raised an eyebrow. “You have _got_ to be joking.”

But, to her surprise, he wasn’t. 

“Jemma Simmons,” he began, saying her name as if he could never grow tired of it. “If you _insist_ on proposing to me, then _I_ insist that you do it properly.” He smiled. “It'll save you years of trouble,” he chided playfully.

“Years? _Really?_ ”

Fitz nodded, his classic smirk etched across his features. It was only then that Jemma seemed to realise what he was really saying.

“ _Well_. I suppose if it'll save me _years_ of trouble...”

She slowly clambered out of bed (though not without making a big deal of clambering over Fitz’s side of the bed – and, therefore, Fitz – as she did) and dropped herself down onto one knee. She wobbled for a second but then stood firm, planting her feet on the floor to make this moment one they’d never forget.

“Leopold–“

 _“Aaargh!”_ Fitz clamped his hands over his ears.

Jemma pouted, crossing her arms. “Oh, for _goodness_ sake! What is it now?”

“No Leopold!” 

“You insisted that I do this properly!” 

“Not _that_ properly! That’s just unnecessary, Jemma.” Fitz screwed his face up at the thought of his first name and how excruciatingly awful it was. 

Exasperated, Jemma threw her arms in the air. If it had been any other situation, it probably would have made them both giggle like children. But the gravity of the situation was beginning to way Jemma down, especially since she had asked multiple times now and was still no closer to an answer. “I’m trying to propose, Fitz!” 

“Oh _please_ , you don’t even have a ring.” 

“Who says I don’t have a ring?” she defended herself, but Fitz was quick to see right through her. He raised an eyebrow at her as if to say, “Really?”, and she soon caved. “I’m _fairly_ sure you don’t need a ring to pop the question.” 

Fitz scratched the scruff of his neck in such an awkward way that Jemma had often joked that only he could manage that. “Are you sure?”

“ _Yes,_ I’m sure. All you need is yourself, the person you want to spend the rest of your life with, and... well, the question. That’s all it takes. The ring _is_ a symbol, I’ll give you that, but it _isn’t_ a necessary part of the equation. Although... that being said, it _is_ rather nice symbol.” She shook her head to avoid going off topic all over again, and cleared her throat. “So, what do you say?” 

“You never asked me the question. You said it yourself, the question is a necessary part of the equation.” 

Jemma huffed. 

“Fine. Leopold Fitz, will you -” 

Fitz cut her off before she could even finish the question, pulling her into an embrace that was to rival any they’d ever experienced before. He held her closer than he ever thought he could, cupping her face in his hands as he kissed her, laughing each time they broke apart. 

When they came up for air a third time, Jemma pressed his forehead against his. She was already welling up, and she didn’t realise she was crying until Fitz wiped away her tears with the pad of his thumb. 

Jemma’s voice cracked with emotion. “You’re supposed to let me finish the question!” 

“Sorry,” Fitz laughed weakly. She then realised that he too was crying, and he was quick to wipe away his own tears with the back of his hand. 

Jemma took a deep breath to compose herself. She was practically sobbing at this point, and Fitz took her hands in his to help her finish the most important equation of their lives. 

“You’re my best friend,” she whispered between sobs, “and I don’t think I could ever imagine spending the rest of my life with anyone other than you. So, Fitz... will you marry me?” 

Without hesitation, Fitz pulled Jemma into another embrace. It somehow managed to beat the embrace from moments before, something he hadn’t considered to be possible – but, of course, they were Fitzsimmons, and almost anything was. But the only thing that stopped it from being so was when Jemma pulled away, looking down and biting her lip as her heart continued to thud in her chest. 

“What’s wrong?” he asked gently. 

“You didn’t answer my question.” 

Fitz gently grazed his fingertips over the side of Jemma’s face, brushing her hair out of her face and tucking it behind her ears. There was an almost expectant desperation in her eyes as she tried to gauge his reaction once more, waiting for the response she’d been craving all night and had yet to receive. It wasn’t until Fitz watched the smile on her face begin to fade that he finally gave it to her. 

“Yes, Jemma.” Her eyes brightened, and she beamed at him. “Of course, yes!” 

“Yeah?” 

“Yeah.” 

The realisation that Fitz wanted to spend the rest of his life with her just as much as she wanted to spend it with him had Jemma crying even harder than before. He pulled her close, letting her sob into his shoulder as he laughed through his tears, kissing the top of his fiancée’s head.

 _Fiancée._  

He smiled at the thought. 

As he held her, he whispered _I love you’s_ into her hair. His voice cracked a little more with each one he said, with each one meaning more than the last.

In that moment, they felt time had stopped in its tracks. Realistically, of course, they both knew otherwise; but as they held one another they felt as though anything could’ve been possible. People had always said that together they were capable of just about anything, so who knew. Maybe they could one day. 

But even if their joint efforts meant that living in that singular moment forever was never going to be possible, they were both okay with it. Because they had their whole lives to look forward to, lives that would bring hundreds of equally brilliant moments that they could cherish forever. 

“I suppose I should get you a ring now,” Jemma thought aloud, playing with Fitz’s noticeably bare hands. “I wouldn’t want people thinking you’re on the market now, would we?”

He couldn’t help but smile at that. 

“You mean, something like this?”  

He reached into the bedside cabinet and pulled out a little black box lined with silver. He popped open the lid in one swift motion to reveal a small, silver ring inside. 

“You were going to...?” 

Fitz’s voice bounced softly as he laughed at the look of shock decorating Jemma’s slight features. People had always said they could read one another’s minds, and he supposed this was further proof to that maybe they could. 

“I’m so sorry!” she gasped, pressing her hands to her reddening face as she rambled apologies about her impromptu proposal. 

“Why? You have nothing to be sorry for.” 

“You had a _plan!_ ” 

“So? The end result was the same, so does it really matter? Besides, who needs non-refundable deposits anyway?” The widening of Jemma’s eyes quickly caused Fitz to retract his statement.  “I’m kidding. Seriously.” 

Knowing Fitz, Jemma knew all too well that he could have been lying. Although, saying that, he could have also been telling the truth and he really had paid a small fortune in deposits to give her the memory of a lifetime. She didn’t really know which answer seemed most plausible at this point. 

She continued to cock her brow at Fitz, hoping that it would force him to divulge the real truth to her, but then again he already could have done. It didn’t take long for Jemma to conclude that this _really_ wasn’t doing her sanity any good. 

Jemma pawed at the edges of Fitz’s shirt. It was an old one he’d bought on their first outing at the Academy – she had the very same one herself. It was a faded blue with what used to be white writing on it, the laws of thermodynamics written in bold letters across his chest. Admittedly, it was rather faded now, but Jemma had always thought that it had given it more character - which was why it was one of her favourite shirts. 

“What were you going to do, if you don’t mind me asking?” 

“For the proposal?” Jemma nodded. 

“Remember how we used to sneak up on the roof when we were at the Academy?” Another nod. “We’d take a few snacks up there, and pretty much every blanket we could find, and just huddle up together as we watched the stars go by? Well, I was going to take you up onto the roof, make us some sandwiches or something, and then we could sit and this time you’d finally be able to watch the Geminids go by. It’s not a lot, I know but –“ 

Jemma was tearing up again. “The Geminids meteor shower, Fitz? Really?” 

“Yeah, because you always used to fall asleep during the Geminids and I thought that maybe this year you should get to see them. Since they’re your favourite and all.” 

Curling her hand up in his, Jemma nudged him bashfully. “Well, that _is_ rather romantic. I didn’t even get you a ring!” 

“And I don’t think I can ever forgive you for that.” 

He received another jab in the ribs for that. “This ring is gorgeous, Fitz. May I?” 

“You don’t have to ask, it’s yours.” 

“Right, yes.” 

Before Jemma could reach for it herself, Fitz removed the ring from the box. He then took her hand in his and slowly placed the ring on her finger, watching her beam down at her hand as she began to take in the beauty of the ring, and the reality of what had just happened. 

The ring was the same silver that lined the outside of the box it came in, with three diamonds encrusted in the middle – a larger one surrounded by two smaller ones on either side. It was simple, but it was elegant – just like Jemma. And with the ring now placed on her finger, she couldn’t believe that it could look more exceptional than it had done in the box, but as it glinted under the dim lighting of their secluded bedroom, she found herself happy to be proven wrong. 

“It truly is beautiful, Fitz,” she whispered, her voice laced with emotion. Her thumb traced the outline of the ring incessantly, committing every ridge to her memory. 

Fitz watched her do so, drawing small circles against her shoulder with his thumb. The pure elation that radiated from her was second to none, and it lit up her features with the beauty that he had always seen. In his eyes, there was nothing more beautiful than that.

“True,” he told her, as he continued to watch her admire the ring - though it wasn’t the ring that he was admiring. “But it’s not nearly as beautiful as what I’ve got here though.”

With her palm on his cheek Jemma pulled herself forward to press her lips to his, evoking a smile. Truthfully, he didn’t think he could ever stop, not that he ever wanted to. As Jemma dove deeper into the kiss, the cool band of metal pressing against Fitz’s skin gave him butterflies – the reality finally beginning to set in for him. _She said yes_ , he reminded himself. After all that time, she finally said yes.

Or rather, he did. But it didn’t matter. The outcome was always going to be the same.

Laughter didn’t befall them this time, they were instead laced with passion driven by future that awaited them. A future they would get to spend together, side by side, just like they had since they were sixteen years old. Except now, they weren’t achingly shy. Now they could conquer just about anything (unless it involved lactose - neither of them had quite figured that puzzle out yet).

Jemma’s hands fell to the back of Fitz’s neck as he pulled away. It was almost instinct now for her to raise her brow whenever Fitz began to smirk, especially now that he seemed to have upped his game in the ‘banter’ department. But, nonetheless, he smirked as he wrapped his arms around her waist and he only did so more as he noted Jemma’s now iconic expression.

“I love you,” he told her. “I love you more than you can possibly imagine. But you _really_ need to up your game in the romance department.”

“Well, it looks like you’ve got the rest of our lives to teach me.” 

“Why wait?”

Jemma couldn’t help but giggle as their lips met once more. She could never tire of this, not really. When their lips met it was like they were the missing pieces to the puzzles neither of them ever thought they needed to solve, but now that they had they could never think of looking back. Only forward.

With every kiss they brought themselves closer towards one another, and despite a minor incident involving Fitz hitting his head on the cabinet and Jemma laughing at the murderous look he gave it (and her for refusing to help him), they were completely entranced. They were lost in one another, bracing themselves for a future that in spite of its uncertainty, now at least held _some_ certainty.

Because they were going to spend the rest of their lives together, and it had only just begun.


End file.
